Faster Than a File Transfer: Dropbox Keeps High Rate of Acquisition

June 18, 2014

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As its competitor Box inches closer to an IPO, Dropbox has been on a torrid streak of acquisitions, doing nothing to quell the rumors of an IPO of its own in the near future. The company recently acquired data analytics company Parastructure—reported on the same day as Box acquired Y Combinator-backed Streem—for its eighth acquisition of 2014. But while Box’s acquisition of the desktop cloud drive service moves it along its core business as a cloud storage provider, Dropbox’s acquisitions are set to diversify the company into a do-it-all platform.

In the eight companies picked up by Dropbox this year, there is a mix of both consumer and business services. It has purchased photo and video services, business messaging apps, document collaboration platforms, data analytics technology and even an eBook reading and sharing company, all challenging any thought of the service being more suited to either business or personal use. Being used by over 4 million businesses and over 300 million users worldwide, Dropbox has become a place for a person or entity to keep and share its digital self.

The company is well on its way to doubling its acquisition total from 2013 (5), aided by the $850 million in debt and equity it has raised in 2014 alone. It also continues to grow its user base, adding 100 million users in the six months prior to June and launching its service in more languages (now totaling 19) and more countries (now 200) just this week. Whether or not Box hits the public markets soon, with the rate of growth that Dropbox is experiencing, don’t expect the rate of its IPO rumors to be any slower.